We've just returned from the "city of light". I intended to call this post Paris 7 (which it was) but it was also a celebration of a milestone birthday that I wasn't particularly looking forward to. That resulted in our 7th visit to my favorite city and the revised title.
Each of our Paris stays has been different, but there are things we always do, places that must be revisited and food that can't be missed. This trip was, indeed, different. We didn't go to the Louvre or Montmartre ; no nutella and banana crepe or tomato and mozzarella sandwiches, therefore no feeding the pigeons; but, we survived ~another perfect Paris holiday!
Our apartment for the 2 week stay was located on Ave de la Motte-Picquet in the 7th arrondissement. The area is clean and fairly quiet because of the many embassies located there. We were between 2 main tourist attractions; the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides. The Ecole Militaire Metro area was a main hub for many buses, which was our main mode of transportation. Only a block from the apartment, near the Champs du Mars, the Place de l'Ecole Militaire is a sprawling intersection of 5 streets. 6 bus lines use this area as a correspondence. The real challenge is finding the bus stop for the correct line, going in the desired direction.
When I was planning this trip, I tried to include many of the sites that were missed on the previous 6 visits. (My plans always tend to be a bit amibitious.) At the same time, I tried to make each day easy on my body (limiting walking and stairs). There were 2 side trips planned; 2 days in Brussels for my birthday and a day trip to Rouen. I also included 3 neighborhood explorations, 2 open air markets and 3 museums. The rest of the time we would 'play it by ear'. My goal was to take lots of photos. We did go to Brussels, 1 museum and did a lot of 'playing it by ear'. I took over 1500 photos
So let's begin this photojournal of Paris 7.0.
